Self-Defence and a Phronetic Use of Violence: A Christian Response to Muslim-mob Attacks in Northern Nigeria
Abstract The sermon on the mount has often been used to support a nonviolent response to any form of injustice and violent attacks against Christians. This article argues that the sermon, understood in its original Old and New Testament contexts, does not necessarily support a wholesale prohibition...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2021
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| In: |
International journal of public theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 15, Issue: 4, Pages: 496-512 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KBN Sub-Saharan Africa NCA Ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Northern Nigeria
B Christian social ethics B Violence B Muslim-mob attacks B Sermon on the Mount B Phronesis |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Abstract The sermon on the mount has often been used to support a nonviolent response to any form of injustice and violent attacks against Christians. This article argues that the sermon, understood in its original Old and New Testament contexts, does not necessarily support a wholesale prohibition of the use of violence. It also argues that the implicit ethical theory of the sermon – and the New Testament in general – is a combination of a virtue ethics and a divine command theory. On this premise, one is able to show that a measured use of violence for self-defence is a theologically tenable Christian response to unauthorized attacks. This measured use of violence for self-defence is qualified by a Christian phronesis or practical wisdom, which takes into full account both the teaching of Jesus on love of the enemy and the contextual or existential realities of Christians facing violent attacks in northern Nigeria. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-7320 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of public theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15697320-01540016 |